I know it will seem a little much that having long abandoned my page here, I return in order to drum up business for a project I am concerned in. I hope you'll forgive me because it will be evident (to those who don;t already know it from Facebook) that it IS REALLY COOL and offers real value to supporters and contributors.

Yes I am talking about a KICKSTARTER project to fund beautiful hardcover editions of my new project (ongoing for years, of course, like all of mine) -- "The Chemical Wedding, by Christian Rosenkreutz. A Romance in Eight Days." A little book I regard as a good candidate for First Science Fiction Novel (pub. 1616 -- 400 years ago exactly!).

There are only 14 days left in the campaign and a little (well, quite a bit) less that nalf the stated goal amount reached. I hope you can participate.

It DOES sound really cool! Were I employed I'd gladly go for one of the higher-dollar items, but I'm afraid as things are I'll just be able to go for probably $30 - which sadly won't much help with the stated goal amount.

You just crossed $50,000! Very pleased to be a funder of this project. Fingers crossed it will be produced ever-so-slightly quicker than the 25th anniversary edition of Little, Big, which I'm sure is getting in production any day now.

I posted my message about The Chemical Wedding on LiveJournal to resounding silence, followed by the coincidence of posting it to counterforces.blogspot.com on the day that the article in the Guardian doubled the Kickstarter total, leaving me feeling a bit like the rooster who believes his crowing makes the sun come up. (I think twelve people read my post, total.)

But while you are following comments on this post, why is Christian Rosenkreutz spelled Christian Rosencreutz on the cover of the book? I have been assuming the spelling was changed for a good reason and adopting it in my blog posts, but I see you use the Rosenkreutz spelling in your own post.

I keep forgetting which I prefer. I guess -creutz is old-fashioned now, but it is the original in the German, and A.E. Waite (1887) uses it; Foxcroft's original English translation is -creutz and so is Yates's "Rosicrucian Enlightenment." I am not linguist enough to know or say why it changed over time -- do you? At some point I decided on -creutz for the book, but I still use -kreutz now and then for no good reason. Wikipedia, oddly, leads with "Rosenkreuz" with an "also spelled" for -kreutz. So I guess it's user preference.

Is the answer to your riddle 3? My idea is that space is 3D and adding 5 gives you 8, a sideways infinity.

If this is correct could my reward be an update on the status of the 25th Anniversary Edition of Little, Big? Last word on the site was that it would go to press this month. Looking forward to reading The Chemical Wedding.

Well that wasn't MY answer, but since my answer has been given here I can tell you -- the number is 360, the number of degrees in a circle (space) to which you add 5, and get the number of days in a year. Cute?

I can give you no update on LB25 beyond what you can find on the website, I'm sorry to say. I feel there is movement toward conclusion, but can't offer details. I wish I could.

ANd thanks for supporting CW. It really WILL arrive in reasonable time, I guarantee.

Somehow I missed the May posting for Kickstarter. Would have gladly contributed, but alas, too late now. Glad the target was reached! I went to your blog, John, because I've missed it and have been sorry to see you put it behind (presumably). But all good things must end, I suppose. I still get to read you in HARPERS from time to time (always good). AND I brought a book home from my local library yesterday, LOVECRAFT COUNTRY by Matt Ruff, only to be delighted to find your blurb on the back cover when I perused it a little more closely. A recommendation from John Crowley ("WWJCR?" means "What would John Crowley read?" in case you didn't know) is high praise. Best wishes from a Forever Fan. tina

Tina -- Thanks for this -- I was looking back through old posts and missing it myself. It occurred to me to start it up again -- It's much different from Facebook (the people, in part.) But it is an occupation.

You can now -- or by year's end -- buy a copy of the book -- and I'll get a royalty. Win-win.

There's something I want to point out. In the first day he gets out of a dungeon and then wakes up. This is Gnosticism. He is waking up from the world.

I have a theory about the eigth day. Maybe he was still a porter when he went home. He's been tasked with guarding the secrets of Alchemy for the rest of his life. I think that's what the last part is suggesting.

I've just purchased the paperback Chemical Wedding from Small Beer Press at Readercon 2018 and am enjoying it greatly. I notice footnote 21 on pages 106-7 goes into the numerology of a lady named ALCHIMIA. Toward the end of the footnote is 'the young lady's name "contains fifty-five", which is irrelevant to the solution'. But of course, the lady's name adds up to fifty-six in this numerological system, so "contains fifty-five" is directly relevant, though it doesn't directly solve the riddle.

It would be even more esoteric if you were related to Aleister Crowley, but I fear Crowley is a common name!